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There are many things we can control. Over recent months, there have been several occasions when I’ve been swayed off course and forgotten I am the one in control. Inevitably there has been great learning in this. But the clock is ticking and who knows how much time there is to get back on track, stay on track and do whatever it is we are all on this earth to do. Clarity comes with sitting it out. Taking the time to simply be still. To see what is right in front of us. Not be afraid to ‘put it out there’.

It’s not possible to get it right, all of the time. It’s not easy to get to where you want to be. To where you need to be. As fast as you’d like to. What is important above all else is knowing what you stand for. What matters. What is important. What to focus on.

I’m not religious. But I am an optimist and I believe that people are inherently good.

I fervently cling to the belief that that most people are honest. That given the opportunity, the majority of people will rise to the challenge and ‘do the right thing’ if they can. And it takes a brave person to make a stand when the tide is going against them. Resilience is called upon and just how resilient we are determines how we come out of the most challenging of situations, how we cope and ultimately the direction we find ourselves moving in. It may be 10 steps forward and 8 back in the short term. And that’s ok too. It’s still moving on.

Spring is the time of year in my mind for re-setting standards. Daft resolutions of hiking up hills, joining a gym, learning whatever skill you thought you needed have been put in perspective and realistic habits are emerging. Now it’s about reviewing what is acceptable in my life, an opportunity to look it all, to see what’s worth pursuing and what is not. I am ‘work in progress’, in constant evolution. How about you?

It was one of those mornings. Maybe you don’t get them. I was feeling just a tad sorry for myself whilst simultaneously knowing how fortunate I am. Sitting there, clutching my coffee cup with both hands, looking out at the grey sky, rain drizzling down and yep, I was feeling apprehensive as I had a fairly serious meeting lined up. You know the type, one chance to make a good impression and yet all the odds stacked against you.

A sudden uplift. On my tablet, I see a most welcome comment on a recent blog post about the difficulties encountered when living overseas, fluent in another language, yet lacking the courage and confidence to 'pipe' up, to speak out and add my voice to the conversation.

Great content. Would love to quote you on my site, is that ok?

Only when I scroll down later and I see the website wishing to quote my post…. it is for, yes, you’ve guessed ‘Life Enhancement Products ‘ – You’ve got to laugh and I just roared. In future, I’ll think at least twice about headlines. When you headline a post with ‘When Words don’t come fast enough’…. why was I so surprised ! Naive would be an understatement.

Time will tell

And the 20th January will be a date people will recall the world over. They will forget the promises made, the strong words spoken.

People will see for themselves that words do indeed have consequences. That lead to actions, once taken cause tremors across continents. And unease in every country across the globe.

Actions though speak louder than words. And time, time will indeed tell.

Hope and Faith. Faith and Hope

It's time for each of us to do what we can. Because we can, the best we can to live without fear. And if at times, fear strikes, we can choose to use that fear, the terrible, disabling fear of uncertainty rather as a means to feed our minds and work collaboratively, towards a stronger, more certain future within our own areas of expertise.sharing the knowledge, the experience, the work, so nobody gets left behind or out in the cold.
There is enough to go around.It just needs rethinking. Our systems need to change to allow for a different way of living, of working, of making everything work better, for more people, rather than a small section of society. Men, Women and Children marked today in their cities across the globe, standing together for what is right. Change happens and gathers momentum when standing together. Supporting one another locally, nationally, internationally. Mentally, physically and spiritually. A greater social consciousness is around us. What legacies we leave will tell another story. Our stories. The bigger story of our time.
I believe, we can fly high and bring people around us with us,showing that together really is stronger. And I will do as much as I can to make my words do more than sit on a page. Life is a collaborative journey.
Better to try than wonder 'what if'. Not to make assumptions, rather make good things happen. It is what it is. The journey begins as this, a new year unfolds.
challenging assumptions - a Much More Than Words breakfast event runs 22nd March.

Ireland may be a small country but it packs a big punch overseas. I know there are big issues to resolve. But here, here we are safe and can live without fear. .Somewhere where the grass really is green. Ireland is a place many call home now. And ‘Ireland’ means home to me.

What can we really know about a person from on-line profiles? How true are they to the person behind that all singing, all dancing, slick on-line image? How much do our profiles really tell us, potential clients, potential employees, potential friends? Our Workplace can be a really emotional place, sometimes when we’ve things on our minds and our reaction to a situation, a comment can be out of proportion. Someone’s ‘pushed’ our buttons and triggered a response that under normal circumstances wouldn’t bother us but hey, too late. We’ve pushed the send button or the words have leapt out of our mouths before we’ve had time to blink. Too late. In person it is easier to make amends. On-line, it’s gone.

Congruency matters. On-line or off-line, it is you, what you do and how you do it that makes all the difference.

Whether you are standing up in front of an audience or emailing someone, talking on the phone or blogging. You are putting yourself ‘out there’. It is taking a leap of faith especially on-line where once it’s gone, you’ve pushed that send/publish/share button and you’re showing yourself to the world, What you’ve created is an imprint. The question is, is it really you?

A company whose values align with your own, that you are proud to be part of benefits from having employees who know who they are and what they stand for. People who are proud to be working for them, as after all, employees are ‘brand ambassadors’ and make no mistake, people who work for themselves are walking advertisements for themselves too. An an Employee or Business Owner, you need to be able to express yourself, voice your opinion in a way which shows respect and appreciate another’s point of view. When someone has the courage to say ‘I’m not sure about this, can you help me’ or perhaps ‘Do you think there’s a better way of explaining the problem’ or quite simply ‘Can I ask you what you think’, it’s a real indicator that there is space for growth, for improved performance, a willingness to expand one’s horizons.

Sometimes I find myself technically challenged. Spending time working out how to use a new phone, a new app, embrace a new way of getting my message out there I find hard. I am sure I am not the only one. Once a ‘twit-nit’ does not mean forever and now I’ve asked for help, though a slow learner know it will get easier!

Being able to be yourself matters. To express yourself matters. Congruency matters – on and off-line…

Be courageous enough to pause and give your audience time to think. That means slowing down your points of wisdom to the point that people can hear a penny drop.

-Ron Arden

I just can’t help it. My nerves get the better of me and my mouth just runs away with me.

Well, I am sorry, you can.

In training people are always telling me how worried they are about getting all of their information out in the time they have to present, they felt they just want to get it over with and so just rush, rush, rush and so the presentation comes out almost as a stream of unstructured information. Just think about what this means. The message a poor presenter who rushes through their slide show or talk says quite clearly:-

a) I have not prepared my work well enough to deliver the salient points succinctly

b) I don’t care if people cannot understand what I’m talking about because I’m talking too fast

c) I do not respect my audience sufficiently to give this presentation the way it should be

And the final message he/she is indirectly giving out is ‘I do not believe that my reputation or that of the organisation I represent is worth upholding.’ OUCH.

Pretty shocking really, isn’t it?

Now, let’s re-write this scenario and imagine a situation where a presentation has been worked on and you conclude your presentation and receive a great heartfelt round of applause – and know you deserve it. That is such a great feeling and you can achieve such an outcome when you’ve prepared with the audience in mind. Try using this to guide you:-

First Hot Three Tips – For a Successful Presentation

I’ve given these in ‘3’s’, as this seems to be easier to remember.

Before anything, consider what the objective of your presentation is and ask yourself why you have been asked to deliver it. Then consider your audience, be it of one or to many people.

Who am I presenting to?

What time has been allocated?

What is the most relevant information can I give in the time available

What you are doing here is 'starting with the end in mind'

Next Steps

Now you know your audience, time and key information for your content, you need to think about:-

The key message

The structure and delivery – to make it both interesting and appropriate, making sure you have an opening to get people’s attention, enough substance to hold their interest and a strong closing which reminds the audience why you were the right person for this occasion.

Try mind-mapping to give you an outline - what I call 'the presentation framework'

Now for the Hard Work

The CREATION, writing, editing, souring of images

Continual EDITING ensuring your pitch, pace and strategic use of pauses all add, never distract and only what is useful remains. You may use story telling, or another delivery style to weave together your content to make your presentation flow

Rehearsal, PRACTICE, time and time again. Refiningmore and more each time.

this is the magic of 'how' you bring it together to make your presentation flow

It sounds so easy. And it is .. incredibly easy to get it wrong. Especially when you don’t allow for the PAUSES, you are not giving your audience time to think, time to process the valuable information you have prepared. When you talk too much and ad-lib, you are likely to move away from your key message and run overtime, disrespecting your hosts and if other speakers are following your speaker slot, your overrun may literally ‘steal’ their time, as they are obliged to keep to the overall schedule and cut their speech or presentation short. It will nearly always take longer to deliver than you think, so be stringent in your editing. LESS IS MORE. More memorable, more digestible, more enjoyable. For your audience and for you. The more experienced you become, the more competent you will be and the more effectively you will be able to move ‘off script’ but as a new presenter, it is best to follow guidelines. The most important thing to remember though, is to be yourself.

If you’d like to work with me on a one to one basis, or are interested in group training for your organisation, click to contact me directlyor phone me on 086 8572005.

Human Emotions shape us. They shape us professionally and personally. They also have a stronger influence on our overall performance and satisfaction with life than we care to realize.

‘THE ORGANISATION AS AN EMOTIONAL ARENA’

Our 2017 Breakfast Series begins on the 18th January with Dr. Annette Clancy, Assistant Professor of Organisational Behaviour at UCD College of Business. She’ll share invaluable insights and open up the conversation with HR Specialists attending. If you can, join us for lively discussion around what we believe really matters. At a time when ‘Donuts aren’t doing it any more’ never has the importance of respecting the true value and potential of ‘our ‘human capital’ been more crucial.

Janie Lazar and Andrea Goldman of Much More Than Words hope you can make this early morning meeting and our belief that as professionals, we can all make a difference in simply being human! Space is limited, booking advisable.

‘Much More than Words’ focus on boosting communication skills in the Workplace – especially in organisations with a multi-cultural workforce. Having worked overseas, we know what it’s like to be competent, fluent even in another language and yet, not confident enough to fully engage and integrate effectively. Helping employees through our integrated training approach to get up to speed faster and maximizes their true value and potential.

We believe we provide something more, something very different as we get into developing a stronger mindset giving another dimension to the Coaching and Training we provide. Boosting English Language competency where needed and honing essential communication skills for better teamwork, leadership and creative thinking.
The secret we believe is building up a mindset that encompasses 'thinking differently' so much so that it becomes second nature, a practice that enriches overall performance making for real connection in communication.

In our world yes.Over the years both Andrea and I have seen so many people unable to pay for professional training because training is not an option at work, or perhaps for small business owners in particular, there never seems to be enough time or money. If you’re a job seeker or have just moved to Ireland, spending money on upskilling however much you need it, may not be top priority for you.

We’ve both lived overseas. We’ve experienced first hand how challenging it can be and know the importance of developing both language and communication skills in the country you’ve moved to. As a small part of our commitment, we allocate one free place on every public workshop we run to help you integrate and engage more fully.

Ireland is a great and exciting place to live and work, especially when you have a good command of English which is still the common language between people of different nationalities.

How can someone apply? There are two easy ways. The firstway is to submit a suggestion on our Facebook page of what kind of workshop would be the most useful. Maybe you need Presentation Skills, help with Networking, Business Language for Sales. Perhaps Stress Management or Interview Skills. Perhaps there’s something we can do that is not listed on our website you’re your suggestion will help us to keep our service relevant. The second way is to email us directly with the subject line ‘free workshop application’, giving us your contact details, a little bit about yourself and your suggestion for a workshop you need. We’d love to hear your suggestions.